Ten women founders building tech and tech-enabled businesses have graduated from the third South African edition of the Standard Chartered Women in Tech (WiT) Programme, with five of them awarded US$10,000 each in equity-free seed funding at a graduation event in Johannesburg.
The graduation marks another milestone in Standard Chartered’s global Women in Tech journey. Launched in 2014, the initiative now runs in 13 markets – including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, the UAE, Pakistan, India, the United States and Brazil – and has supported more than 1,000 women entrepreneurs through a blend of seed funding, accelerator support and access to networks. Over this period, millions of dollars in grant capital and in-kind support have enabled women-led businesses to scale, create jobs and deliver solutions in climate resilience, financial inclusion, health, education and the future of work.
In South Africa, the programme is delivered in partnership with WomHub as part of Standard Chartered’s Futuremakers initiative – the Bank’s global community strategy focused on tackling inequality and promoting economic inclusion. Through the WiT South Africa cohorts, the Bank has invested over US$50,000 per cohort in equity-free funding for women-founded tech ventures, alongside intensive non-financial support including business training, mentorship and access to ecosystem partners.
Chris Egberink, CEO and Head of Coverage, South Africa at Standard Chartered said, “Every year, this programme reminds us that when women founders have access to capital, networks and belief, they do far more than build companies – they build solutions that move economies forward,” “This third cohort has tackled some of South Africa’s most pressing challenges: how we use energy more efficiently, how we prepare young people for a digital future, how we unlock new opportunities for communities that have traditionally been left out.”
From this group of ten, five ventures were selected by judges as the top performers of the 2025 cohort – each receiving US$10,000 in equity-free funding, these are:
- Citizen Code – founded by Lisa Adams, an edtech initiative making digital culture, coding and digital skills accessible to primary and middle-school learners.
- Tsehla Holdings – founded by Roseline Mapuranga, a climate-smart hydroponic farming enterprise that operates without pesticides or herbicides and intentionally employs women, introducing them to technology in agriculture.
- HerdTrace – founded by Zusiphe Makeleni, a livestock-theft prevention solution that uses integrated smart ear tags and a digital platform for real-time tracking and monitoring.
- GreenBDG Africa – founded by Songo Didiza, a sustainability consultancy and energy-services company driving net-zero transformation through smart metering, energy-data monitoring and green-building certification.
- Zime Wezwe Creatives – founded by Zime Nxumalo, a prop-tech venture simplifying the process of buying and selling property by leveraging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Over several months, the cohort took part in workshops and clinics on finance, legal compliance, governance, storytelling, leadership and investor readiness, while refining their business models, building traction and testing their assumptions in the market.
Zime Nxumalo, Founder of Zime Wezwe Creatives said, “The Women in Tech programme has been genuinely life-changing for my business. Beyond the funding, the workshops especially on finance and legal compliance helped us structure partnerships more effectively and close deals during the programme itself. It pushed us to examine parts of the business we hadn’t looked at closely before, from unit economics to long-term scalability.”
Roseline Mapuranga, founder of Tsehla Holdings said, “The Standard Chartered and WomHub Women in Tech programme has been exceptional for me and for Tsehla Holdings. The cohort has become a powerful tribe of women who support one another with skills, insight and encouragement. The funding will go a long way, not only in empowering me as a founder, but in uplifting the community of women I work with in climate-smart agriculture.”
Anjani Harjeven, CEO of WomHub said “Across the continent, women are starting businesses out of necessity and opportunity, but they still face systemic barriers to capital, markets and visibility. Our work with Standard Chartered on the Women in Tech programme is about changing that. This third cohort has been exceptional – they are solving real problems, building real products and creating real jobs. They are not a side story; they are the main story.”
Although the formal programme has ended, the relationship with the ten founders does not.
The graduates now move into a post-incubation phase, where they will continue to receive guidance on investor readiness, market access and scaling strategies. Standard Chartered and WomHub will also continue to open doors to potential partners, clients and investors through their local and global networks.
“Futuremakers and Women in Tech are core to how we think about our role in society. As South Africa continues to confront high youth unemployment, inequality and the demands of a fast-changing digital economy, initiatives like Women in Tech show how targeted, long-term investment in women entrepreneurs can deliver both social impact and economic returns.” said Egberink
“We remain committed to expanding opportunity. When women innovate, industries change. When women thrive, communities prosper. The founders graduating today are proof of that.” concluded Harjeven.